SAN CARLOS, Calif. – May
26, 2010 - Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held
clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutics for
autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, today announced that Abbott Biotech
Ventures
Inc., has joined Alvine’s current investors:Interwest Partners, Panorama Capital, Prospect Venture Partners,
Sofinnova Ventures, Black River Asset Management and Flagship Ventures
in the company’s
Series A Extension financing.The terms
of the investment were not disclosed.

“We are very
pleased to add Abbott
as an investor in Alvine,” said Abhay Joshi, Ph.D.,
Alvine’s President and
Chief Executive Officer.“With the
support
of all our investors, we are committed to developing ALV003, our lead
product
candidate, as a novel therapeutic agent with the potential to treat
celiac
disease.”

About Alvine

Alvine
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a
privately held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and
commercializing therapeutics for autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.Alvine’s lead product candidate, ALV003,
is
being developed as a potential treatment for patients with celiac
disease.For additional information about
the company,
please visit www.alvinepharma.com.

About Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is the
most common
hereditary autoimmune disease with prevalence estimated to be as high
as 1-2%
in the U.S.
and E.U.Intestinal inflammation in
celiac disease is triggered by the ingestion of gluten in genetically
susceptible individuals.Gluten is a
protein found naturally in wheat, rye, and barley, and is one of the
most
common and nutritionally significant ingredients in the human diet.
Patients with celiac disease mount an immune response to gluten and
gluten
fragments, resulting in systemic immune-mediated damage in the gut and
other
organs.Gluten ingestion can be
associated with symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation and
rash.Complications of celiac disease can
include
osteoporosis, anemia, dermatitis, weight loss, diabetes, autoimmune
diseases,
malignancies, and peripheral and central nervous system conditions
including
depression. The only available option for individuals diagnosed
with
celiac disease today is a life-long adherence to a strict gluten-free
diet,
which is difficult to follow.

About ALV003

ALV003 is an orally
administered
mixture of two recombinant proteases engineered to degrade gluten into
non-immunogenic
fragments, by targeting the glutamine and proline residues that are
common in
gluten.ALV003 consists of a
glutamine
specific cysteine protease (EP-B2) and a proline specific prolyl
endopeptidase
(PEP).